Kindle Singles: Will readers buy a ‘killer idea?’

Yesterday, these shorter pieces of writing — ranging from about 5,000 to 30,000 words — finally became available at amazon.com/kindlesingles.

A few months back, Kindle reached out to writers, scientists, business leaders, politicans and others for compelling original content that was longer than a magazine feature and shorter than a novel.

The Singles now on sale, chosen by a team of Kindle editors, include essays, memoir, fiction and journalism. Prices range from 99 cents to $2.99.

Among the top sellers so far:

“Leaving Home” by Jodi Picoult (43 pages, $2.99): The deep pains and powerful pleasures of parenting: those are the extremes explored here in three short pieces that display Picoult’s wide emotional range.

“The $500 Diet” by Ian Ayres (39 pages, $2.99): When Yale law professor Ayres vowed to drop his weight from 205 pounds to 180 pounds, he put his money where his mouth was — literally. It was either lose the weight, or pay the price.

“Each Kindle Single is intended to allow a single killer idea — well researched, well argued and well illustrated — to be expressed at its natural length,” said a press release from Amazon.